I love the pumped-up energy I have after a good workout. Plus I feel stronger—I am this close to being able to do a real pull-up. But if we’re being honest, I also love the way exercising helps my body look. There’s a certain satisfaction that comes with being able to zip up my skinny jeans easily. So when I’m diligently hitting the gym but my clothes feel like they’re actually getting more snug, it can be frustrating to say the least. It turns out, when it comes to exercise, it’s possible to get too much of a good thing when it comes to weight loss.

No-brainer—walk it out! And that’s not just because strutting your stuff will burn some of the calories you ate. Scientists actually put both options to the test.

As its name suggests, drinking a digestif, such as brandy, is meant to help you digest your meal (for the record, an aperitif is drunk before a meal, to whet the appetite). But when researchers compared the digestive effect of digestifs (say that five times fast) to walking, walking won hands down. Pounding pavement—or hoofing it on the treadmill, which is how a small group of men were tested—sped up the rate at which food passed through the participants’ stomachs. Drinking a digestif didn’t change the rate of digestion. And, unfortunately, neither sipping nor strolling alleviated that I-need-to-unbutton-my-pants feeling after a large meal.

I work hard for every pound of weight I lose (and those last few post-baby pounds this year were stuh-born). And I’m sure you do, too, so the notion that something beyond pure willpower is derailing our efforts to shed pounds is downright infuriating. To that end, here are 3 diet “wreckers” to be aware of. Don’t let them erase all your dieting hard work.

Diet wrecker #1: Having a morning snack.
People who didn’t snack between breakfast and lunch lost nearly 5 percent more weight (an average of 7½ more pounds) over a year than morning snackers in a 2011 Journal of the American Dietetic Association study. Since breakfast and lunch can be only a few hours apart, researchers suspect that most morning snacks are fueled out of habit rather than hunger—and generally amount to mindless eating. So forgo your morning...

I love that many restaurants and food chains offer up nutrition information—on the actual menu or on their company website. I like knowing that scrumptious-sounding salad is actually a healthy choice or if the dessert I'm eyeing will blow my calorie budget.

But some restaurants don't offer nutrition information. And, according to a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, the average meal at an independent or small chain restaurant is 1,300 calories. (At least in Boston, where the study was conducted.) Some even delivered 2,000 or more calories. Yikes!

I eat breakfast every day regardless of the time of year—breakfast provides me with a much-needed morning energy boost and keeps me focused. And research shows that regular breakfast eaters weigh less and have an easier time keeping weight off. (Who doesn’t love that?)

In the cooler months, I almost always eat a hearty, healthy bowl of oatmeal. But in the heat of summer the last thing I want is a steaming-hot breakfast. Luckily, there are plenty of refreshing breakfast options to help me beat the heat and start my day right. Here are my 4 favorite breakfast ideas to stay healthy and cool all summer long.